At Pulse, we are passionate on sharing medical knowledge, and deliver articles that cover the diverse world of healthcare, including the underlying biochemistry of various health conditions, physiology, ethical dilemmas, and a deep dive into the past and present politics surrounding the practise of healthcare.
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Hormones are essential in regulating our every bodily function, and we have over 50 different major types present in our systems. One of these hormones is aldosterone, and its role in the body is to control our blood pressure and volume.
High blood pressure or hypertension is often referred to as a “silent killer" by many physicians as it is known for not presenting any symptoms until significant damage is done. This condition affects over 30% of the world's population, according to the Pan American Health Organisation, and is a major risk factor for a variety of serious health issues such as heart failure, kidney disease, and vision loss. Given its widespread impact and insidious nature, understanding its origins is the crucial first step toward effective management.
HIV has been part of the world’s medical story for over forty years. Once a diagnosis filled with fear, it is now one that comes with treatment, prevention, and hope. Advances in research have turned a deadly virus into a condition that can be controlled, giving millions of people the chance to live full, healthy lives.
Dementia is an umbrella term describing neurological conditions and the loss of cognitive function as a result of damage to nerve cells and their connections in the brain. It primarily affects thinking, skills, memory and logical reasoning skills; causing symptoms like personality changes, forgetfulness, a lack of social awareness, language processing and planning. Anyone can develop dementia. Almost a million people in the UK alone suffer from this disease and the debilitating impact it has on their lives, and the lives of those around them. Due to its unpredictable nature and unclear causes, it was claimed to be a disease impossible to cure. In recent years, with research, it appears that there have been some breakthroughs indicating that drugs could be used to reduce the effects of this disease.
See above: Examples of nanoparticles and their shapes
Artificial intelligence is where computer systems are engineered to replicate the human thinking process - essentially making machines that can behave like humans. You may have heard of some examples, such as AI chess opponents. AI holds a lot of potential in our society today, particularly in medicine; it’s likely to make large advances in the treatment of injuries and illnesses, and in increasing the quality of life for those who have been affected by them.
Even when doing something as idle as sitting, we are experiencing a myriad of different sensations all over the body caused by our environment and how we physically perceive it, some more noticeable than others. They include the obvious, like temperature, pressure, perhaps pain, light touch, itches, textures, the list goes on. Yet how exactly does our body pick up on all these interactions?
It is easy to assume that without connection to the rest of an organism's anatomy, brain cells do not possess any ‘inherent’ intelligence and therefore cannot ‘think’. However, scientists from UCL’s institute of Neurology and Australian biotechnology company Cortical Labs prove otherwise after creating DishBrain.
A relatively large segment of medical problems are caused by unnatural changes to the environmental pattern our bodies have evolved to exist in harmony with - a key example of which is our optimum levels of sleep being incompatible with our daily routines. This results in somewhat harmful alterations stemming from our lifestyles and regular activities that can cause negative long term impacts on our health, which we may view as mere minor discomforts in our lives.
Throughout our lives, many of us have heard the phrase, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,’ or that, ‘Beauty is subjective,’ in relation to who and what we as individuals find attractive, as something unappealing to you can be perceived as the ideal by another person. As well as this, it is not just people we may see as beautiful, but various forms of art, natural landscapes, many genres of music and something as simple as the arrangement of flowers - the list is endless, and the feelings we have in response to beauty are intricate. Beauty beyond survival and reproduction is in fact, as a concept, a very human experience. Our complex psychology allows us to feel pleasure from simply allowing our senses to experience things which, from a perspective completely devoid of the meaning we give it, are really just shapes, colours and textures. And to further indulge in that feeling we have actively created art, since prehistoric times, such as the handprints on cave walls, or the small sculptures formed out of rocks and wood. Yet, why do we feel this way about certain features in the world and what exactly determines which of these we enjoy and which ones we dislike?
The human body is prepared to face all manner of injury and illnesses through a series of general first-line responses, followed by the more specialised and specific if required.
See above: Opioid poppy.
See above: Diagram of a transorbital lobotomy.
See above: Diagram of Galvani's Frog's Leg Experiment.
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Pulse is a content writing student-led project focused on helping deliver informative and useful resources for aspiring medics and healthcare professionals. Our team is dedicated to delivering high-quality content that elevates your knowledge of medical sciences and the constantly evolving practise of healthcare.
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